Some types of stress are more likely to lead to sexual problems in couple relationships.(Sex Research Update)

It is commonly assumed within both the health professional and lay communities that everyday stress contributes to the development of sexual dysfunctions. However, very little research has assessed the impact that different types of stress may have on the occurrence of sexual problems, particularly within couple relationships.

Bodenmann, Ledermann, Blattner, et al. (2006) conducted one of the first studies to comprehensively investigate the association between different kinds of stress and different sexual problems in men and women living in close relationships. The authors distinguished between three types of stress. Internal stress originates within the couple and includes conflicts and tensions such as having different goals, different needs and desires, habits of one partner that irritate the other, lack of compatibility, or worries about the other partner's well being. External stress originates outside the relationship and includes work related stress, financial difficulties, stress related to children, social stress, and stress related to the extended family. A third type of stress relates to critical life events such as death of a significant other, severe illness, or unemployment.

Bodenmann et al. (2006) examined the association between different types of stress and sexual problems among a community sample in Switzerland of 198 couples who had been together an average of about 12 years. About 75% of the couples were married and 70% had children. The participants individually filled out extensive questionnaires that included a variety of measures assessing different types of stress, psychological problems, relationship quality, and sexual dysfunction. On a basic measure of relationship quality, the sample represented "satisfied couples".

With respect to sexual dysfunction, Bodenmann et al. (2006) found rates in their sample similar to other large population-based studies. Based on a frequency of "often-very often," sexual desire problems were reported by 34.2% of women and 13.2% of men. Arousal problems were reported by 8.1% of women and 2.1% of men. Among women, 12.8% reported orgasmic problems and 5.6% reported dyspareunia. Among men, 10.1% reported premature ejaculation. After controlling for relationship quality and psychological symptoms, the results indicated that sexual problems are incrementally affected by stress.

 
   Our findings show that the predictors 
   (especially internal daily stress, i.e., stress that 
   originates within the couple), explained 9% 
   to 26% or the variance of sexual problems 
   and up to 47% of specific ...